Game Design: Fun vs Engaging

Pretty much my thoughts on the meaning of two words when applied during evaluation of the video game.

So you often hear “fun and engaging”, both of which mean that you just want more of it. But we can, if we want to, pick a few popular titles that deserve one over the other. 
Let’s think: Destiny, well it is likely more fun than engagement. Personally, in my storage of good memories there are only few: when I come into new area with my cool new gun and ghost tells me a bit of backstory. The combat itself is a blur. So I was not too engaged, but I played it. No matter what mood I was in, I could pick up the controller: fun game is a fun game. This is possibly part of the definition for FUN: There is no reason not to play it, unless you have other important things to do. 
On the other hand, I would only touch game like Silent Hill if I feel like this is what I want right now — something disturbing, continious horror. Even when you are done with the game, it still feels unresolved. Maybe because there are few unresolved story points, alternative endings, unanswered questions? Well, probably, those ARE the reasons for your interest, but Silent Hill did something right to make you ask those questions, and to make you feel like there is more story than you know by now. And often there is: if you ever get a chance to tolk to one of the authors of something interesting, there is more he can tell than his creation has to show.

See, when you craft something imaginative, there is no bounds, there is no rule book. Except, people create some. There are basics, like well understandable and grammatically correct sentences, which I’m failing at, sorry, and thank you for suffering through this. But there although rules we made for specific genres. You can watch CSI. You know what to expect, what they (creators of the show) are doing, you predict how things will turn out. And still you watch, because it is fun. Fun can be new and original, but it rarely hides its recipe. Your average Hollywood comedy will certainly have a pool party with unrealistic proportions of hot girls to nerdy dudes. So for something to be fun, it should be very well executed, author should know exactly what he is doing, and the better he realises that, the better will be the result. On the other hand recipy for engaging things is something new, something you never tried before, new flawour, texture and looks. You will enjoy the ride, (or the main course if I’d try to proceed with food metaphore, but I’ll have to switch your brain to transportation area, think of a train now). You ride to get to the end, but only then you’ll realise what a fascinating journey you had (If it was one of those Agatha Christie trains with murder). You were just looking for a killer, fighting for your life, but only in the end realised how exciting it was. Where snowboarding is opposite — you’ll hate to reach the end.

I’ve got a bit off track here. Here is what makes a game one or another: meaning. We want to know what it means: if we win, we want a giant golden medal; If we collect dots, we want them to be coins or stars, even better — humans in need of rescue. And we got that meaning in all kinds of game, but here is a thing: fun games disguise their mechanics as something with meaning. While more engaging games have meanings disguised as game mechanics. This new puzzle game Witness made me think of this. Recall games you’ve played, try to measure the amount of pure joy you had, and amount of interesting experience you got from them. Then think, what was more important: things you did in that game (collect, find) or what those things represent. Would you like this game if it were stripped of all it’s character, or how much of your interest in it would be taken away if all of the interactivity were put on rails.

Final thoughts.

In well crafted games for engagement, mechanics are there so you could control pacing. And this is why games are so different from non interactive media, like movies. In movie you are rooting for someone, you wish for certain outcome, and have regular emotional response. In game, if certain outcome is out of your control it loses value, because you say “Well, it was inevitable. Developers decided before it happened.” — no emotions. But when game manages to deliver some experience through gameplay, this is when industry is at it’s brightest.

So there are two kinds of games: the pool party, that welcomes you every time, weak or strong, young or old; And the other type, is an old temple at the top of snowy mountain with hooded monks who kick you in the nuts and with words “You are not ready!” shut the door. Whichever you are making at some point you need to figure out what rules you are following. Because freedom is not that good for creative stuff. You think about what you want, what you should do and what you must never do, at some point you will narrow a path for yourself to follow.